Life Lessons with Papa
by PrincessSerenity101
Summary: Haruka-papa was never the best teacher in the world, but when it came down to encouraging me, I learned more than any honors class could teach in an entire day.


Life Lessons with Papa

_Summary: Haruka-papa was never the best teacher in the world, but when it came down to encouraging me, I learned more than any honors class could teach in an entire day._

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Sailor Moon. Sorry to disappoint._

_A/N: Another distraction one-shot I came up with. I like the Haruka/Hotaru family stuff :D It's so much fun to write. Please, enjoy it!_

I fumed as I entered the house – my sanctuary during rough times. I could feel the love embrace me once I closed the door, but the only thing in my mind at that moment was my anger and frustration. Stomping off to my room, I let my emotion radiate from my body and keep the love at bay. However, this was only the first wave, and I couldn't avoid the next one. The plan was to just ignore it and stay in my room for most of the day.

First, I walked past the kitchen, catching the attention of Setsuna-mama. My head was down, and my eyes stared at the floor. I walked faster to my room as her voice rang out. "Hotaru? Are you alright?" she asked me. "Sure," I mumbled as I neared my room. She used my name this time, which denoted when certain situations were serious. Of course, I was acting 'stranger' than usual to her, so that meant something was up.

Just as I outstretched my hand to open the door, it opened for me. Michiru-mama was standing in front of me with an empty laundry basket in hand; she had dropped off my laundry for me. Reflexively, my eyes narrowed as I bit my tongue and my face grew hotter. I tried not to say anything to her because things would start to flow out of me if I began talking.

"Hotaru? What's wrong?" Michiru-mama asked. I rushed into my room and told her to leave. I threw my bag to the floor and plopped down on the bed on my stomach. Michiru-mama tried asking me what was wrong again, but I didn't answer her. I simply stared at the headboard until I heard the door close, glaring at it like it was the very thing I hated most in this world.

I thought about what had caused me to be angry that day. Naturally, I squeezed my pillow, and I started to cry.

* * *

Dim lights illuminated the dark room. Lamps that I had collected up until that point were my light source. Their glow was very beautiful and helped me think. Before, all my thoughts were scattered about the place, and scenario after scenario played in my head almost every minute. Now that I was surrounded with this lighting, though, I could remember what happened earlier today in chronological order.

I stood up from my desk with a sigh and walked over to my bed, finished with all of my homework assignments. I threw myself on the bed and closed my eyes. There was nothing else for me to do, so I decided to waste the rest of the day away. For a while, I listened to the footsteps belonging to my parents as they walked by my room. Every now and then, they would be accompanied by voices, asking if someone should see if I were alright. Thankfully, no one did come to see me – not at that moment.

Just as I looked at my alarm clock to check the time, my door opened suddenly. My eyes darted to the intruder. I bit my lip and mentally cursed myself for not locking my door.

The intruder was none other than Haruka-papa.

I immediately turned away and grabbed my pillow. I knew she was going to talk to me about what made me so mad today – Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama obviously told her about how I acted when I came home (since she wasn't here). She closed the door and walked to the bed, sitting right beside me.

"Didn't see you at dinner," she noted. "Too good to eat with your family?" I shook my head, saying I wasn't hungry. "Finish your homework?" she asked next. I nodded. "In this dim place? Your gonna damaged your eyes, Hotaru." I furrowed my eyebrows at the way she said my name; she was trying to annoy me on purpose.

"I heard you came into the house mad," she continued. "Why?" I looked up and stared at her, not really wanting to say anything. She knew I didn't want to, but she would force me to tell her one way or another. Her expression was not gentle; it was more intimidating than anything else. Despite that, she wanted to know so she could find a way to fix the problem or at least make me feel better, just like any parent would.

"School basically," I murmured. "It's not important, though." Haruka-papa shook her head, telling me otherwise. "If it's not important, then you should be able to tell me, wouldn't you agree?" I clenched my teeth and mentally chastised myself. Haruka-papa had a point, and I couldn't deny that. "It's just the same as usual."

"And what's your definition of usual?"

"Grades, people talking about me, all that stuff."

Haruka-papa told me to sit up, her expression never changing. I sat up, leaning against the headboard and crossed my legs. My eyes found Haruka-papa's immediately, wanting to hear what she would say next.

"Your grades, I know about," she said. "Not the best, but not the worst." I immediately glared at her, feeling a sudden fire in chest – an explosion of sorts. She didn't back down, her eyes staring right into me; I had no chance against her. "Yes they are!" I exclaimed. "Everyone expects me to do well and look what happens!"

"So we're the ones at fault?"

"No, but it's like everyone will start looking down on me once I start doing bad, like now," I answered, staring at my feet. "But no one is looking down on you," Haruka-papa told me. "Where did that idea come from? Your classmates? Is that why they talk about you?"

"No. They just think that I'm such a _genius_ and I'm so _bigheaded_ that I don't need friends," I said, rolling my eyes at the thought. "I mean, I have a few friends, but its not like I have a plethora of them like everyone else does." I crossed my arms and clenched my teeth, my frustration coming back. "I'm _right_ there, and they choose to talk about how egotistical I am or how I'm apparently smarter than everyone else. No one understands how angry that makes me!"

Haruka-papa proceeded to chuckle, making me look at her with disapproval. "What?"

"I've never seen you this angry before, that's all," she said. "You know, you should give your classmates something to think about when you go to school tomorrow." I tilted my head to the side, silently asking what she meant by that.

"Give them a piece of your mind. Don't let them make you feel the way you do now; stand up for yourself."

That thought had entered my mind so many times, though for some reason it never seemed easy. Perhaps that's because I don't like conflict. Rarely is there a reason to start arguments or fights, so I try not to make any trouble.

"Is that all?" Haruka-papa asked me. "Besides the stupid people I somehow bump into? Yeah," I shrugged. "Stupid people?" she asked. "You know, those people who don't have any common sense and they take their _precious_ time in doing the simplest things?"

"Oh…_those_ people," Haruka-papa nodded. (She hated stupid people, too.) After a short pause, she put her arm around me and pulled me close. "Life may seem hard for you at the moment, but it'll get better, trust me. However, only you can make it better. Think of it this way…" She rubbed her chin for a moment and stared up at the ceiling as she tried to think. I waited patiently until she came up with an example.

"Alright, alright, I got it! Life is the craziest driver anyone could ever imagine, and he's driving your car while you're in the backseat. Sometimes, he drives perfectly – never above the speed limit and never driving too slow. However, there are times where he manages to drink a few too many and drives like a maniac – he has the potential to damage your car and, more importantly, kill you. The only way to save yourself and continue driving perfectly just like before is if you take the wheel yourself and put life in the backseat."

I smiled at the car analogy. It was very typical that she would come up with something like that. She grinned at me, apparently happy that I was cracking a smile. I hugged her and squeezed her tight, thanking her for her help. She ruffled my hair and said it was nothing. She stood up and pulled me with her, telling me I needed to eat something. Before we got to the door, I hugged her again. Tomorrow, I planned on using her logic, no matter how weird and insane it was.

**End**

_Haruka/Hotaru family fics are the best hands down, ha! Well, maybe for the family genre, but they're just awesome! Til next story_

_Serenity101_


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